Record player



July 21, 1953 Filed April 9, 1948 D. P. DONCASTER RECORD PLAYER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY M, ELM-.zf,

@mm WM ATTORNEYS July 2l, 1953 D. P. DONCASTER 2,646,283

' RECORD PLAYER l med April 9, 1948 s' sheets-sneerv s BY @aufn gewnff' ATTQRNEYS Patented July 21, 1953 UNITED -ISTAT EsV PATENT OFFICE iamazes f RECORD PLAYER.

Daniel P. Doncaster,-Long Island City, N. Y., as-

signor to Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., New York,y N. Y., a corporation of NewYorkv Application iAprilS, 1948; Serial No. 19,924

. Y 1 A V.This inventionrelates to phonographs, and provides an improved record player which -1s simple to operate and requires a minimum of attention on the part ofthe user.

lhonographs have been made kfor a great 'many-` years and at thepresent time maybe broadly classiiied into two categories. Oneof theseconsists of automatic recordplayers designed to play a number of records automatically in sequence. Such players may be made fairly simple to operate, but in generalare rather complicated in design and hence are Yexpensive and prone to get out of order. .The other category consists of single record players wherein individual records f-While. generally useful vfithfany type ofdiscl record, the player is Vparticularly useful withthe longepla-ying indexed vrecords described inCirdd'-I n mark application Serial No. l-9,922,led April 9,-. 1948, noW abandoned.- The invention of that ape" 1 claims. (o1. 274-2) l When the player of the present invention is used with such records, long-playing times mayl be secured Without any attention whatever on the part of the user, and any desired selectionr indexed on theV record may be played at will lby a simple convenient setting of the player.

In accordance with the invention,4 a record player is provided in which the reproducer `arm is pivoted to the under side ofy a cover` which extends over at least a portion of the turntable, and'is so mounted as to engagea record on the turntable when the cover is lowered. A starting position setting device is mounted on the cover and arranged for manual operation from the upper side thereof.v *The setting device has an associated locating member below the cover which engages the reproducer arm to establish vthe starting position thereof on a record.y Advan-Y tageously, the reproducer arm is arranged so that when the cover is raised at the end. of va record, the reproducer arm falls by gravity from its recordfnishing position to a starting position plication provides record having a plurality i of concentric annular sound zones in which dif-Y ferent selections maybe recorded. -An annular spacing zone is provided between successive sound zones having a stylus-guiding groove joining adjacent sound grooves. The location of the spacing zone-is determined in accordance with a predetermined scale, anda correspondingr series `graphic symbol placed on the label area of the on the record. Advantageously, ne grooves and 1 slow rotation, say 331/3 R. P. M., are employed so as to provide a long-playing record withy a plurality of selections recorded onone side.

determined by the positicnof the setting device; A calibrated scale is associated with the setting memberand visible from above the cover sothat the starting position may be simply and expeditiously predetermined. Advantageously, the setting device is arranged to `be continuously ad- .Ajustable for starting positions at any point betweenthe beginning yand substantially the end of arecord. The scale is preferably calibrated Yin accordance with :the predetermined scale used in. 'indexing records of; the type v disclosed in Goldmark application Serial No. 19,922, mentioned above, so that the record .player may be readily preset to play any desired selection on the record. l. Another yfeature of the invention is the provision of a kcutofswitch mounted on the cover for shutting off the player When the end of the record `is reached. The cutoii switch is arranged to be automatically reset when the cover is raised. A switch is also provided for actuation by the weight of a record, so that the circuit to the turntable motor iscompleted only when a record is on the turntable.

A player with the features of the present invention is extremely simple'to operate. To play a series of records of the same diameter, it is .suicient to simplyl raise the cover with one hand, changethe record `or turn itover with they other hand, and lower the cover. A minimum number of movements is required and each movement is uncritic'al. If it is vdesired to play records of different diameter,` or different selections oa single record, a simple adjustment of the setting device from above the cover takes care of the matter. It is unnecessary to place the pickup carefully by hand at a precise location on the record since this is taken care of automatically by closing the cover.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following description of specific embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a record player designed.

in accordance with the invention, with a record on the turntable;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Y

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view with a portion of the cover broken away to show the mechanism mounted thereunder;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, showing the arrangement of the cutoff switch;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 4, showing further details of the cut- Oi Switch;

Fig. 7 is a rear view, partially in section, taken along the line 'I-'I of Fig. 4;4

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail showing the recordactuated plunger and associated switch;

Fig. 9 is a circuit diagram of the turntable motor with associated switches.

Referring to Figs. l and 4, a box Ill is shown, in which is mounted a turntable Il rotating about the spindle axis l2. The turntable is adapted to receive a record-of the disc type, and a record I3 of the type disclosed in application Serial No. 19,922, supra, is shown on the turntable in Fig. 1. If the player is designed to play primarily 10 and 12 inch records, or smaller, the turntable may conveniently be about 9 inches in diameter and the box IIl designed so that records will extend somewhat outside the box.' This reduces the size of the box and permits readily placing records on the turntable and removing them therefrom.

Box I I) is provided with a cover I5 which in the drawings is shown as extending over only a portion of the turntable.Y The cover is hinged at and is provided with a tab III for convenient raising. It Will be understood that if desiredV the cover could be arranged to extend over the entire box ID, and the box could be enlarged so that records on the turntable are entirely within it.

A reproducer or pickup arm I6 is pivotally mounted on the under side of cover I5. As shown in the drawings, arm I6 rotates in a horizontal plane (cover assumed closed) about the vertical bearing I'I mounted on plate 28 attached to the under side of the cover. Vertical movement of the pickup head I8 is allowed by the flat spring I9 between the main portion of arm I6 and the bearing I1 (shown more clearly in Fig. 7).

A starting position setting device is mounted on the cover and is shown in Fig. l as a dial 2I mounted on the upper side of the cover and manually rotatable by grasping the cross rib 22. calibrated scale 23 is engraved on the dial and an index pointer 2li is engraved on the cover. On the free end of the reproducer arm a pin 25 is provided which, when the cover is raised, rests on a plate 26 attached to the under side of the cover.

The starting position setting device will be described further with reference to Figs. 1, 4 and 7. A starting position locating member is provided below the cover in the form of pin 3l attached stantially equal amounts. In this manner, a linear scale 23 on the dial corresponds to approximately linear movement of the stylus 33 in a radial direction. It is also advantageous to have the range of the setting device extend from the starting position of the largest diameter record for which the player is designed to the minimum diameter of record groove in which sound is recorded.

For convenience, the upper part of the pickup arm I6 has been cut away at 34 to provide room for the pin 3|. As the dial is rotated to set the stylus for different starting positions, pin 3 I moves along cam surface 32, the design of the cam surface being determined as above. Actually, toward the end of the travel, pin 3l may ride out onto the side 375 of the arm.v For other locations of the dial, or for other than circular movement of pin 3l, the design of the abutting surface of the arm may be changed accordingly. If desired, the cam surface could be formed on the member moved by the dial, and arranged'to engage the pickup arm or a pin attached thereto. Other modifications will occur to those in the art within the principles set forth.

While the foregoing linear relationship of dial rotation and stylus starting position is preferred. if desired any desired relationship may be effected and the dial calibrated accordingly.

The pickup arm may be of any suitable construction, but is here shown as the type described in Goldmark application Seriall No, 30,024, filed May 29, 1948. -As seen in Fig. '7, when the cover is in closed position, thestylus 33 engages the surface of record I3 carried by turntable I I. In this position, pin 25 on the pickup arm is raised oir plate 26 so that the arm is allowed free lateral movement and the necessary amount of vertical movement to follow the record grooves. It will be evident that if the cover is raised, plate 26 will engage pin 25and raise the pickup 01T the record. By virtue of the location of the pickup arm bearing I'I with respect to the hinges of the cover (Fig. 1), as the cover is raised pin 25 will slide along plate 26 and the pickup arm will fall to a starting position determined by the setting of dial 2 I. When the cover is then lowered, the stylus 33 will engage the record at the desired point. Thus, the mere raising of the cover automatically puts the player in condition for starting the same or nextv record. Y

While it is preferred to set the dial with the cover in raised position, with light needle pressures and adequate vertical compliance in the pickup arm the dial setting can be changed in the lowered position without injury to the record grooves. Of course, interlocking means could be provided for preventing movement of the dial when the cover is closed, but such additional complication is usually unnecessary.

Fig. 2 shows the cover in raised position in dash lines. Hinges 20 are advantageously located substantially at the level of the top of a record on the turntable. Then, as the cover is lowered, stylus 33 moves in the arc of a circle whose tangent at the record surface is perpendicular.

K cases.

spring pressure, the `cover may be raised any.

Thus the stylus is moving vertically kdownwards as it touches the record and any tendency .to move along the record surface or jump grooves is minimized. The hinges are also advantageously so designed as to limit the angle by which the cover may be raised. This maintains the dialinv easily readable condition at all times so 'ias to facilitate the setting thereof. Dial 2| is main-- tained in any position by a Phosphor bronze spring 2l which is attached .to the under side of Y the dial with the free ends overlapping the cover.

amount desired. f

VIt is advantageous to provide means for preventing sudden dropping of cover I5, inasmuch as thestylus engages the record toward the end ofthe closing. As shown in Fig. 3,' a dash pot is advantageously provided so that'the final portion of the closing is slow vand gentle. Plunger 4I is attached tothe mounting plate 42 in boX II! Aby means of screw 43. A cylindrical member 44 surrounds plunger 4I Yand is pressed upwards by compression spring 45. .A set screw 46 limits the upward movement of cylinder 44- when 'it engages abutment 4l on plunger 4I.

ment with cover I5. When the cover is raised, cylinder 44 is pressed upwards by spring 45 and chamber 49 lls with air. Although a separate port may be provided for this purpose, it has been found satisfactory to provideaslight clearlance between cylinder 44 and piston 4| so as to allow leakage of air therethrough. When the cover I5is released, it engages tip 48 and forces cylinder 44 downwards. The air inchamber 49 is` compressed and forced out of the chamber by leakage between the sliding surfaces. the usual dash pot action and the final movement of the cover is slow and gentle. Spring is selected to give sufficient pressure to push cylinder 44 upwards when the cover is raised, butV is not sufliciently strong to4 prevent the closing of the cover by its own weight.

As shown in Fig. 4,. turntable II is driven by switch 53 is actuated by the pickup arm,. and `the other switch 'I5 by the weight of the record.

Referring to Figs.- 4, 5 and 6, switch53 is mounted on plate 58 attached to the under side of the cover and has an actuating lever arm 54 pivoted at 55. The lever` arm actuates a plunger vin the switch which may be ofthe well known microswitch type. Lever arm 54 is provided with a plate 56, bent at a slight angle as showninFig. 6, and a small weight 5l.

The switch 53 is normally held in closed position by the'engagement of angle plate 56 with. detent. 6I. ,The detent is in the form of a right angle pivoted at`62 to plate rE58. The head of 'detent 6| lhas a hook 54,--inolined` at the proper A soft tip V48, for example, of felt, Ais provided for engageis on the turntable, the mechanism of Fig. 8.

This gives table (as shown in e).

6 angle toengage angle plate 56.. The switch 53'is mounted on the end 65 of plate 68, and portion 65 is `bent downwards at a small angle a. This tilts the pivot axis 55 slightly outwards so that when detent 6I. releases lever arm 54, the weight 5l attached to thearm causes it to move outwar-ds and open switch 53. Instead of tilting the whole switch, axis 55 alone could be tilted. The entire arm may be made sufficiently heavy for the purpose without employing additional weight 5'I,if desired.

One leg 66 of `detent 6I is positioned to be abutted by pickup arm I5 when it has reached the runoff groove at the end of a record. Atthis fpoint, the pickup forces detentBI in a clockwise direction (Fig. 6) thereby disengaging angle plate 56 and permitting lever arm 54 to swing by gravity to its open position. This stops the motor.

If, now, the cover is raised, lever arm 54 swings back by gravity to its closed position. The orientation of the switch and lever arm with respect to the hinges 2! of the cover are shown in Fig. 4, and it is evident that upon raising the cover, weightY 5'! will act to reclose switch 53. Upon closure, detent 5| also swings by gravity to the position in which hook ii-lreengages the angle plate 55, and the switch is maintained in closed position until again actuated by the pickup arm.

It is thus seen that the simple act of raisingv the cover not only returns the pickup arm to its starting position, but also resets the cutoff switchl so that the turntable will again start (provided there is a record thereon). The use of the force of` gravity to open and reclose switch 53 is simple and reliable. However, if desired, spring action may be employed instead.

In order to turn off the motor'whenno record is provided. Turntable spindle 'IZhas a vertical hole running therethrough in which is mounted a plunger rod TI. provided with slots 72 in which travels cross pin 'i3 aflixed to the top of plunger lI.

in Fig. l. The lower end of plunger II engages lever arm 'I4 of switch l5, which may beof the microswitch type. Lever arm 'F4 is norm-ally spring biased upwards toits openv position, and tends tohold plunger 'II in the up rposition.

rihus, with no record on the turntable, switch 75 is open Iand plunger EI is in raised position' with cross'pin 'I3 above the rsurface-of the turnv When a record is placed on the turntable, it engages .pin i3v and the weight of the record forces the plunger 'II downwards and closes switch l5. This completes the `circuit to the motoras shown inFig. 9.. v

The operation of the record player will now be described. It will be assumed that the player has been designed for' use with l0 and 12 inch records, it being understood that it may be designed for records of any other desired diameter. If itis desired to play a 12 inch record, dial 2i will be set to the corresponding starting position which,V for the calibrated scale shown in 1Eig. l., will be at zero. rlhe cover will then be raised to permit, placing the record on the turntable. Pickup arm i5 wili be in engagement with pin iiiv lattachedV to the underside Vci the dial and switch 53 will be closed. Upon placing the record on the turntable, switch l5 will close and the turntable will start running. Cover I5 is then released' and drops byl its own weight to closed position.' The final portion of the closing will be controlled by the Vdash pot arrangement (Fig. 3')

The upper end of spindle I2 is Cross pin` 'i3 extends outwardly from spindle I2 as shown andthe stylus will gently engage the record at theI desired starting position.

At the end of the record, pickup yarm I will engage detent 6l (Fig. 6), thereby releasing the arm of switch 53, and the arm swings by gravity to the open position and stops the motor. The cover is then raised and the record removed. This may be done very simply by raising the cover with one hand and removing the record with the other, so that the elapsed time is very short. The raising of the cover causes arm 5G to swing by gravity to reclose cutoi switch 53 and, at the instant of closing, the turntable would start again if the record were not removed. Removal of the record of course opens switch 15 and prevents the motor from starting. It is found in practice that there is la slight interval before cutoff switch 53 recloses, and there is ample time toremove the record before the turntable restarts. Actually there is no diiiiculty in removing the record even while the turntable is running, particularly if it is of slow speed, e. g., 331/3 R. P. M.

If desired for any reason, another switch could be inserted in series with the motor to prevent the energization of the motor when the cover is open. However, care should be taken that upon closing the cover, the motor is energized soon enough to bring the turntable up to speed before the stylus engages the record, since otherwise a very disagreeable sound results.

With the cover raised and the record removed, the pickup automatically falls to its starting position and cutoi switch 53 automatically recloses. The record may now be turned over or anew record placed on the turntable, thereby completing the circuit to motor 5I and restarting the turntable. If the record is of the same size as before, no adjustment of dial 2i is required, and the cover is simply released to start the playing of the next record. If, on the other hand, it is desired to change to a 10 inch record, the setting of dial 2| is changed accordingly 'and the cover then released. Advantageously, a mark is placed on dial 2l showing the starting position for 10 inch records, for example in the form of a red dot. For other size records suitable indicia could be added to indicate their respective starting positions.

The player is especially designed for use with records oi the type disclosed in Goldmark application SerialNo. 19,922, described hereinbefore. With such areccrd, it may be desired to play the second movement of a sym-phony which starts, for example, at 26 on the predetermined scale.

If the diai is calibrated in accordance with the v same predetermined scale, it is simply set at 26 and, upon reieasing the cover, the player will start at the second movement. siredselection may be played and the starting position of the pickup arm preset by simply setting dial 2| at the proper reading.

The foregoing description described a specic embodiment o-f the invention in considerable detail. As will be apparent to those in the art, various modications may be made within the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it will be understood that the foregoing specific embodiment, and the description thereof, are illustrative only and that the invention is limited only by the scope of the following claims. Reference is made to application Serial No. 19,923, now abandoned, led jointly by P. C. Goldmark and D. P. Doncaster, in which the Thus any de- 8 starting position setting device described herein is set forth and claimed.

I claim:

1. In a phonograph, the combination which comprises a support mounting a turntable adapted to receive a record, a cover hinged to said support and extending over at least a portion of said turntable, a reproducer arm pivotally mounted on the under side of said cover and adapted to engage a record 'on said turntable when the cover is lowered, the pivot point of said arm being located so that the arm drops by gravity from its record-iinishing position to its recordstarting position when the cover is raised, a

starting position setting device having a locatingl member positioned to limit the fall of said reproducer arm when the cover is raised and thereby establish the starting position thereof on said record, said setting device having adjustable means for setting the position of the locating member, an electric motor coupled to drive said turntable, a control switch and actuating mechanism therefor mounted on said cover, said control switch being in circuit with said motor, biasing means associated with said actuating mechanism biasing said switch toward the o position when the cover is in closed position and toward the on position when the cover is in raised position, and releasable detent means mounted on said cover for retaining said actuating mechanism in the on position, said detent means having an element positioned to vbe actuated by said re-V record-starting position when the cover is raised,

a starting position setting device having a locating member positioned to limit the fall of said reproducer arm when the cover is raised and thereby establish the starting position thereof on said record, said setting device having adjustable means for setting the position of the locating member, an electric motor coupled to drive said turntable, a control switch and actuating mechanism thereior mounted on said cover, said control switch being in circuit with said motor, biasing means associated with said actuating mechanism biasing said switch toward the off position when the cover is in closed'position and toward the on position when the cover is in raised position, and releasable detent means mounted on said cover biased to engagey and retain said actuating mechanism in the on posltion, said detent means having an element positioned to be actuated by said reproducer arm' yto release said actuating mechanism when the arm reaches the end of a record.

3. In a phonograph, the combination which comprises a support mounting a turntable adapted to lreceive a record, a cover hinged to said support and extending over at least a portion of said turntable, a reproducer arm pivotally mounted on the under side of said cover and adapted to engage a' record on said turntable when the cover is lowered, the pivot point of said arm being locatedso that the arm drops by Y ward the off position when the cover is closed,

the mass and pivoting of said lever arm being correlated to move the lever arm by gravity to the on" position when the cover is in raised position, and a releasable detent mounted on said cover positioned to engage said lever arm in the on position, said detent having an element positioned to be actuated by said reproducer arm to release said lever arm when the reproducer arm reaches the end of a record.

4, In a phonograph comprising a support mounting a turntable adapted to receive a record,

a cover hinged to said support and extendingv over at least a portion of said turntable,fa re-v producer arm pivotally mounted on the under side of said cover and adapted to engage a record on said turntable when the cover is lowered, the pivot point of said armbeing located so that the arm drops by gravity from its record-finishing cover is raised, a manually-adjustable setting member on the upper side of said cover with a calibrated scale associated therewith visible from above the cover, and -a starting position locating member below said cover actuated by said setting member and positioned to be abutted by said reproducer arm to limit the fall thereof when the cover is raised and thereby establish the starting position thereof, the improvement which comprises an electrical motorV coupled tov drive said turntable, a control switch mounted on said cover and in circuit with said motor, said switch having an associated actuating levervarm biased toward the off position when the cover is closed, the mass and pivoting of said lever arm being correlated to move the lever arm by gravity tov the on position when the cover is in raised` position, anda releasable detent mounted' on said cover positioned to engagesaid lever arm in the on position, said detent having an element positioned to be actuated by said reproducer arm to release said lever arm when the reproducer arm reaches the end of a record.

5. In a phonograph, the combination which comprises a support mounting a turntable adapted to receive a record, a cover hinged to said support and extending over at least a portion of` said turntable, a reproducer arm positioned to engage and reproduce a record on said turntable, an electric motor coupled to drive said turntable, a control switch and yactuating mechanism therefor mounted on said cover, said control switch being in circuit with said'gmotor, biasing means assokposition to its record-starting position when the ciated with said actuating mechanism biasing said switch toward the off" position when the cover is in closed position and toward the on position when the cover is in raised position, and releasable detent means mounted on said cover for retaining said actuating mechanism in thev on position, said detent means having an elef electric motor coupled to drive said turntable, a

control switch and actuating mechanism therefor mounted onV said cover, said control switch being inrcircuit with said motor, biasing means associated with said actuating mechanism biasing said switch to the oi position when the cover is in closed position and'including apivoted lever arm whose mass, and pivoting are correlated to move'by gravity to the on position when the cover is in raised position, and releas-y able detent means mounted on said cover for retaining said actuating mechanism in the "on position, said detent means having an element positioned to be actuated by said reproducer arm to release said actuating mechanism when the arm reaches the end of a record.

7. In a phonograph, the combination which comprises a support mounting a turntable adapted to receive a record, a cover hinged to said support and extendingover at least a portion of said turntable, a reproducer arm positioned to engage and reproduce a record on said turntable, an electric motor coupled todrive said turntable, a control switch mounted on said cover and in circuit with said motor, saidswitch having anl associated actuating lever arm biased toward the 7 oil position when the cover is'closed,.the mass and pivoting of lsaid lever arm being correlated to movethe lever arm by gravity to the on position When the cover is in raised position, and areleasable detent mounted on saidcover po'- .sitioned to engage said lever arm in the on position, said detent having an elementY positioned 'to be actuated by said reproducer arm to release said lever arm when the reproducer arm reaches the end of a record.

' `DANIEL P. DONCASTER.

`References Cited in the -le of this patent Adler May 15, 1951 

